Articles and tips from Pepperdine University's IT Technology and Learning group.

Friday, March 14, 2014

Knowing our Learners

Knowing our Learners

by Keenan Kibrick

Knowing our learners is extremely important to meeting their
needs.The problem however, is we must
ask ourselves, how well do we know our students?Our students are very different learners then
we are, and the question becomes how should we teach them?Should we design classes towards their
learning styles, or have them conform to ours?A mixed path I feel is a great way to do this, and to help these are
very good links to articles that help us better understand our students and
their learning process to better the education we can provide.

The Key Components of
a Learner-Friendly Interface Design

Why I
opened it: I was curious to read about interface design,
because I was making videos on the topic.I wanted to confirm my video knowledge, and to learn a little more about
what to add to the videos.

Why I
kept reading it: This article went beyond what I imagined.It’s not just one article it’s a starting
point that lead into many fascinating articles.Each link is another step to great interface design in an e-learning
classroom.If you have a blended class,
online class, or even use Sakai in a face-to-face class this hits so many key
points in design it’s almost a crucial read.It covers 4 primary topics graphic clarity, readability, usability, and
learnability.However, each topic has
links to must-reads and they are must-reads.How learners read on screen was fascinating, and made me realize how I
should change my online class design.It
covered so many key issues in education.Like the idea that students don’t read more than 8 seconds at a time and
only read 20% of what we present to them.The ideas on how to handle this and thought discussions about this issue
were fascinating.Another must read
“experience is everything” focuses on design tips to make students experience a
class rather than just read it like a website and they are easy to follow.This website is a

valuable article that I
will reference many times and I recommend faculty also reference.

It’s
perfect for: Redesigning and online or blended class, using courses
as a tool in the classroom, learning more how our students think, designing
classes to fit student needs.

How Technology Trends
Have Influenced the Classroom

Why I
opened it:Sticking to the theme of
design I was curious to see how technology changes the classroom.

Why I
kept reading it: It followed those same philosophies from the
design article above.It highlights
primarily how students think and interact with technology.It gives very good overviews of specific
technology facts, and after every overview it presents classroom outcomes
gained from these technologies.The
classroom outcomes are very valuable and help reflect on ways we can change our
classroom practice.Great examples
gained:Flipped teaching to meet the
needs of the “on-demand” student, and tips to increase interactivity in the
class.

It’s
perfect for: learning more how our students think, wanting quick
tips to help change classrooms, trying to meet the needs of a changing
population of students

Why I
opened it:It was catchy looking and eye
appealing, and when I skimmed the article I landed on the last theory and was
hooked.

Why I
kept reading it: I almost stopped when I started because it was
too font weird and eye distracting.However, when I looked past the eye distracting fonts and pictures I
loved the information delivered.I loved
that it included Myths and more importantly it had ways to move away from the
myths.That was the best part for
me.It wasn’t alternatives but ways to
move away.The line alone was catchy and
signaled that they understood change is a process.Further, when we look at the tips to move
away from the myths we see that they are small steps to take to improve
classes.I enjoy small steps some times
and I hope many readers will also.If we
can take small steps to improve our practice they will turn into larger steps
in the future.This entire article had
great small steps to improve learning.The last step was all about research proven methods leading the
classroom and dispelling the rumors that learners know best.It’s all about making sure to cater to our
students by doing what is proven and what’s best rather than just what the
students want.The rest are equally as
insightful and it is a fascinating article that I hope many will read and learn
from.

It’s
perfect for: Questioning how we learn (even newer practices),
wanting to take small steps to success, reading more on the theory of learning.